A while back, I took career inventory. I realized that of my 31 novels (22 published), all but eight were set in the South. I’ve written historical and contemporary fiction, mystery, adventure, time travel, and nonfiction travel. The missing category, and one I’ve always wanted to explore, was Southern humor. The most appealing aspect of the genre is that it requires no research. All I had to do to write Unrefined, Sugar was to conjure my colorful ‘50s Tennessee childhood. The South has always claimed a hefty dose of eccentrics, storytellers and picaresque characters. I don’t know if we actually count more nut cases than other regions or just have more folks writing about them. My favorite theory comes from the late Florence King in her seminal and dazzling...